STEVEN GERRARD knows his players have the talent to be successful this season. Now he needs them to show their mentality in a run of games that could make or break those silverware ambitions.
Over the next four weeks, Rangers will play eight games in three competitions. Momentum must be maintained in the Premiership but prizes are up for grabs in the Betfred Cup and Europa League as Gerrard’s side set their sights on a medal and a knockout berth.
It is the sort of schedule that Gerrard would have relished as a player. The demands are high and the stakes even higher.
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His enthusiasm for such a period hasn’t diminished now that he is a manager and Gerrard knows he needs his key men to stand up and be counted at home and abroad.
“I love the word,” he said when asked about the mentality of his side. “And that’s what it’s about at this stage.
“You have to show big mental strength. I need characters, I need leadership and I need game management. Talent only gets you so far so the players are very aware of how strong they’re going to have to be from a mental point of view.
“I am looking for my leaders in the team to help us navigate our way through this month. But after what the players have given me it would be disrespectful to judge them on the next four or five games.
“Some of the performances and results they’ve had over the last 18 months have been incredible.
“At times these players have punched massively above their weight. They deserve a lot of credit and I won’t judge them on the next seven or eight games, others will do that and that’s only natural.
“But these players have enough credit in the bank to have my backing and support.
“I can’t give them that character and mentality, they need to get that out themselves, drive it from each other.
“It’s easy for me to have it, but it’s their responsibility as individuals to really push themselves.
“We need every last ounce of effort in this next month and if they deliver then I can assure you it will be worth it. I know they have it. Sometimes your standards can drop, we are only human and we are by no means the finished article.
“We can still get better. So I am relying on the likes of James, Scotty Arfield and Allan McGregor to really drive us and make sure we are ready for every challenge.”
Rangers head into the visit of Hearts this weekend on the back of another encouraging European outing after the draw with Feyenoord that took them top of Group G with just 90 minutes of action remaining.
Former Ibrox boss Dick Advocaat spoke glowingly about the job that Gerrard has done with Rangers ahead of the 2-2 stalemate in Rotterdam.
The Dutchman admitted his time in Glasgow - where he won five trophies in three years - was amongst the fondest of his long and varied managerial career.
And Gerrard appreciated both the words and the sentiment behind Advocaat’s observations as he looks to write his own chapters in Ibrox folklore.
He said: “I was very flattered to hear him speak so well of me, I have a lot of admiration for the amount of time he’s been a coach at the highest level.
“I think it should have been me complimenting him. I am starting out on this journey.
“But any compliment I get I pass onto the players because they are the ones who have got the fans smiling again.
“It’s a positive place to be and the club is a different place now, I can feel that. But that is down to the players.
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“I think it (Rangers) grabs you, that’s for sure. I knew it was a big club. I knew it had an emotional support and it was a nice fit for me from what I was used to. I liked the size of the challenge. The possibility of being successful here excites me.
“That’s the reason I took this job on. I don’t think I will manage 17 clubs. I will be surprised if I have the career that he (Advocaat) has had.
“But the managers on that level are an inspiration to a manager who is starting out and is still very young. But I take it each game at a time. I don’t set myself targets like how long I want to be involved or what I want to do. I’m very happy here.
“I’m extremely happy. I’m loving the challenge and I want it to roll on.”
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